


Thunderstruck

by PixelByPixel



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Foggy Nelson stans Thor, Gen, I don't even know any more, Make what you will of the ending, Matt Murdock makes blind jokes, Matt and Elektra are little shits, Probably some sort of au, Some Swearing, This is totally self-indulgent, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Timeline What Timeline, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 06:16:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19126294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelByPixel/pseuds/PixelByPixel
Summary: Elektra Natchios isn't sure who this man is who keeps watching her at the gym or why he's watching her, but she's determined to find out.





	Thunderstruck

**Author's Note:**

> Marvel Undercover Prompt: you think I’m leering at you in the gym but really I’m studying your form and trying to learn how to make mine better, with a request for Thor.
> 
> Many thanks to [titC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/titC/) for betaing, and to the [Marvel Undercover](https://marvelundercover.tumblr.com/) folks for organizing the fest. 
> 
> I am ignoring Infinity War and beyond, and who even knows where this is set with regard to Daredevil. 
> 
> This fic fills my Daredevil Bingo square for "It's rude to keep a girl waiting" and my [MattElektra Bingo](https://mattelektrabingo.tumblr.com/) square for "first meetings." 
> 
> I'm not sure if this technically ended up being a "meet ugly," but this is what my brain wanted to do with the prompt. Thanks to whoever submitted it; I enjoyed writing this!

Elektra Natchios had grown accustomed to other people looking at her. What she did about it depended on why they were watching. Sometimes she could just _tell_ that the other person liked her handbag, her jacket, or her shoes, and she smiled in response to their obvious good taste.

Often it seemed they were smitten by her beauty and that, too, was only natural.

Leers drew a cold response from Elektra unless the other person touched as well as looked, in which case she had been known to get violent. She didn’t usually mind the excuse.

The man at the gym was different.

He never said anything to Elektra. He watched her with a certain intensity, and then looked away when he realized that Elektra was watching him in return. Eye contact was like a clash of blades, brief and sharp and hinting at something more to come.

Really, she wasn’t sure what he was doing in the gym; she never even saw him work out. She suspected that he might be some sort of trainer, as he certainly had the build for it, but she never saw him do that, either.

Elektra, of course, worked hard when she was at the gym, and without needing any trainer to motivate her. It was a premier facility, naturally, as one might expect from anything with the Stark name on it. It provided all sorts of ways for her to challenge herself. But the persistence of the man’s gaze… it didn’t trouble her, as there didn’t seem to be anything malicious or covetous about it, but she was aware of it, of him. And she thought of him after she left.

* * *

 “He was there again,” Elektra reported as she tossed her gym bag onto the counter.

“Did he say anything this time?” Matthew asked, coming into the room. Maybe he had gotten in a workout of his own. His hair was still damp from the shower and sticking up at odd angles. Her fingers itched to smooth it down.

“No,” Elektra replied. She brushed past Matthew as she moved to get some water, not quite bumping him out of the way.

“Well, I don’t blame him for watching,” Matthew replied, his lips curving, likely at the contact. He leaned in a little closer so that he was just touching her. 

He liked that, she'd noticed, having that physical awareness of where she was. 

“Not jealous, are you?” Elektra asked archly.

Matthew shrugged. “Maybe a little. I can imagine what you’d look like -” And from his face, he clearly was imagining, such as he could; he smiled as his hand rested on the small of her back. “- but it’s not the same. What does he look like?”

“Big. Bit more muscle-bound than I like. His hair is too long.” Elektra leaned against Matthew, finally letting herself smooth his hair and then brushing her fingers along the nape of his neck. “And I prefer darker hair, of course.”

“Wait, I have dark hair?” Matthew deadpanned. “I thought maybe it was red.” He laughed as Elektra poked his side, and then smiled and leaned into her touch as she curled her hand around his cheek instead. “Have you ever talked to him? You could just ask him why he keeps watching you. I mean, other than the obvious.”

Elektra shook her head. “I’m not concerned. He seems harmless enough, for all his size.”

“Oh, and here I was going to offer to come to the gym with you next time.”

“What, to defend my honour?” Elektra scoffed. “I mean, ordinarily I’d suggest that you could use a workout,” she added, laughing at Matthew’s response. He clearly wasn’t offended but played at an aggrieved manner.

“I keep up with you just fine!”

“For now,” Elektra teased. “But you just box. That’s what you did today, yes? You could use some cross-training.”

“I think jumping between rooftops counts as cross-training,” Matthew replied, though he sounded more amused, and he didn’t deny that he’d gone to the boxing gym. He finally pulled away, moving to pour himself some coffee. “It wouldn’t be to defend your honour,” he said, then, his back to her. “I know you can handle that on your own.”

“I should hope so, after all this time.” Elektra drained her water and turned toward the bedroom. “I’m going to freshen up. Care to join me?”

“Didn’t you shower at the gym? I can smell your body wash.”

“Of course I did.” Elektra continued on her way with a toss of her hair. Matthew couldn’t see it, but she knew he could tell what she’d done. Maybe it was the breeze caused by the movement, the way the air responded.

Unsurprisingly, he followed her into the bedroom. He always did what Elektra wanted, eventually.

* * *

The mystery man at the gym continued to watch her, though he still seemed to be trying to be subtle about it. Subtlety didn’t really appear to be one of his strong points, though. As she pushed herself to a faster pace on the elliptical, Elektra decided that this would be the day that she spoke with him, asked him just why he kept watching her.

Of course, when she got off the elliptical, breathing hard, he was nowhere to be seen. She stretched and cooled down a little, but he did not return.

Typical. He’d been shadowing her for weeks but was gone now that she wanted to speak with him. Exasperated, Elektra rinsed off in the shower and got a quick drink before ending her workout in the sauna. It was segregated by gender - so American; the _looks_ she’d got that first time when she had been topless under her towel - but at least that meant that the mystery man wouldn’t surprise her there. She could take her time and decide what to say.

It wasn’t as if he bothered her, though, Elektra reflected as she basked in the warmth. His gaze had never been intrusive or predatory. If anything, he had seemed curious, perhaps as if he was trying to recall how he knew Elektra.

That couldn’t be it, though. Elektra could be unobtrusive if she chose, and so could conceivably - shockingly - be overlooked by people. However, she was fairly certain she had never met the mystery man. He didn’t seem to have any guile in his body, and so was unlikely to hide his identity; she knew she would not have forgotten him had she met him, not with that build and that hair.

Elektra had not lied to Matthew; she did prefer his leaner build and his darkness. Though she did see some aesthetic appeal in the mystery man, he just wasn’t her type.

So why did she keep thinking about him? Surely it was just that he had thwarted her by his absence.

Elektra, after all, did not like to be thwarted.

Shaking her head in irritation, she settled back against the wall of the sauna and let her eyes close, thinking of anything but the man who, she assumed, was somewhere in the gym.

* * *

Elektra’s steps were brisk as she made her way back to the apartment she shared with Matthew. She didn’t call it home, as she had been adrift for so long that nowhere really quite felt like home to her, but being with Matthew was as close as she could get.

She was still a bit frustrated. Even when she had emerged from the sauna, she hadn’t spotted the mystery man; when she’d described him to the young woman at the front desk, she had got in return a look of disbelief and a startled, “You’re kidding, right?” So that was no help.

Elektra used her annoyance to walk just a bit faster, though distraction still caught at her thoughts. That, no doubt, was why she didn’t notice the man following her, something she certainly wouldn’t have missed on a usual sort of day.

That, of course, was also how he got the jump on her. She felt his arms close around her from behind and twisted in his grasp, managing a half-turn, enough to see his face.

“Matthew,” she breathed. She felt her lips curve in a challenging smile. He must have sensed it for he smiled in response, his teeth glinting in the dim alleyway.

“You said I needed more cross-training,” he began, but Elektra didn’t want words, not just then, not when action would suffice.

She didn’t have her sai, but Matthew, too, was unarmed, so that was only fair - not that Elektra cared about fairness.

And it wasn’t as if either of them was really unarmed. Not with the training they both had received. With a flick of her leg, Elektra took Matthew to the ground, landing on top of him with enough force to make him exhale. She took advantage of their closeness to nip at his ear and was rewarded by a low growl.

A distraction, or so she thought, for Matthew soon twisted out of her grip and ended up with the upper hand as well as the better position. Elektra jabbed at a cluster of pressure points with the knuckle of her first finger and was rewarded by a hiss from Matthew, though he reared back farther than was truly necessary.

“No need to be so dramatic,” Elektra began, but, no, Matthew kept pulling back, lifted by his collar by none other than the mystery man himself. He kept going until Matthew’s feet barely brushed the ground. Matthew made an attempt to free himself, but to no avail. The mystery man didn’t even seem to be making an effort as he held Matthew at arms’ length.

“No need to worry,” the mystery man began, and Elektra frowned as she tried to place his accent.

“I wasn’t worried,” Elektra snapped. “I was _winning_. Put him down.”

“You weren’t winning,” Matthew countered. He twisted enough that his head angled toward the mystery man, and his face went a bit pale. “Who… _what_ …” He swallowed hard and then asked, his manner gone careful in a way that Elektra had never seen, “Would you put me down? Um, carefully, if you don’t mind? I didn’t mean the lady any harm. She can take care of herself,” he added, with a nod toward Elektra.

The mystery man turned to Elektra for confirmation. “Is it as he says, miss? You do seem like you can handle yourself.” Here a note of admiration touched his voice. “Especially against a surprise attack.”

From Matthew’s expression, he could tell that Elektra considered, just for a moment, whether to be truthful. His glasses had slipped enough that she could see his grimace; she relented. “He’s telling the truth. It was… something of a game. We train together. We’re…” Well, what _was_ the word for what she and Matthew were? Certainly not boyfriend-girlfriend; that was too juvenile. And they weren’t affianced, as Elektra at least didn’t care enough about social mores to make their arrangement legal. “Together,” she concluded.

The mystery man looked puzzled, but he set Matthew on his feet. “Well, my apologies, then. I’ve never seen you at the gym, sir. Oh,” he added, as Matthew set his glasses properly on his face and bent to retrieve his cane from the ground. “Are you blind? And a fighter yet? Well, good for you. Those were impressive moves for anyone, sighted or not.”

Matthew nodded and extended a hand. “Matthew Murdock.”

The mystery man shook Matthew’s hand with careful enthusiasm. “Thor, son of Odin.”

“Yeah,” Matthew said, a wry twist to his tone. “That’s what I thought.”

“Elektra Natchios,” Elektra added, not one to be left out. She was reeling a bit at the knowledge of the mystery man’s identity. She had never met him, and didn’t pay much attention to the media where superheroes were concerned, but she still knew who he was. And that did explain how he’d dealt with Matthew so easily.

Thor took her hand easily enough. “A pleasure. My apologies for my assumptions.” He brightened, then, adding, “Can I take you both for a coffee or something? Or there’s a smoothie bar down the street, perfect for after a workout.”

“Oh, I’m afraid we have plans,” Elektra replied, noting Matthew’s small twitch in response to her lie. He was usually better at hiding his responses. “Perhaps another time? I could text you.”

“Oh, I don’t have a phone,” Thor replied, matter-of-fact. “But you could email me. It’s -” He made a face halfway between a smile and a grimace. “- pointbreak at starkindustries.com.”

“Lovely,” Elektra replied, though not without some amusement for the address. “I’ll contact you this evening. Come along, Matthew.” She moved a few steps down the alleyway, then added, not hearing Matthew follow her, “It’s rude to keep a girl waiting.”

“That’s true,” Thor agreed, all pleasantry.

With a murmured farewell to the God of Thunder, Matthew joined her.

* * *

“That’s the guy?” Matthew repeated.

“Yes.”

“Thor Odinson? The freaking God of Thunder is the guy who’s been watching you at the gym?”

“Yes, Matthew. Will you catch up? This is growing tiresome.” She had lost count of the number of times some variant of “Thor” or “God of Thunder” had crossed Matthew’s lips on the way home.

“And we didn’t go get coffee or whatever with him because…?”

“Really, I had no idea you were such a fan,” Elektra teased. Matthew made a short, annoyed sound, and Elektra clarified, “The reason I put him off is that I didn’t want to listen to Franklin whine for the next decade because we got drinks with Thor and he wasn’t there.”

“… Oh.”

“Your partner _is_ a fan of Thor, yes? I seem to recall that he has a figurine or two of Thor on his desk at your office.”

“ _Our_ office,” Matthew corrected, though his tone was mild.

“It was a general _your_. Your meaning Franklin’s _and_ yours. English isn’t actually a proper language, you know. Plenty of other languages have words that would have clarified that.”

Matthew held up his hands in a gesture of surrender that Elektra found quite pleasing. “Okay, so we’re going to go get coffee with Thor Odinson and Foggy?”

“Don’t tell Franklin,” Elektra urged. “I want to see the look on his face.”

“Me, too,” Matthew quipped, but he nodded in agreement. “Might be a good idea to warn Thor, though.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Elektra asked, and Matthew smiled. “Matthew,” she added, “do you, for lack of a better word, _see_ something different about Thor? Your behavior around him was unusual.”

Matthew shrugged. "Part of that was that he’d just picked me up like I was a rag doll, but yeah. There’s something, I don’t know, electrical about him. I could tell he was different. His tone distant, he said, “I’ve never, well, _seen_ anything like him.”

“Electrical, though,” Elektra mused. “Appropriate. Is he really as different as all that?”

Matthew nodded. “I can’t describe it. Do you think he can really shoot lightning out of his fingertips, or is that just something somebody said who’s seen Star Wars too many times?” Elektra made a vague noise of unconcern. She really didn’t understand the superhero hype. Matthew turned to her then and asked, amused, “Did you seriously not know that the guy watching you at the gym was _Thor_?”

Nettled, Elektra replied, “Really, Matthew, I don’t have the time or energy to keep up with all the superheroes that come to your city. I have met Tony Stark, though. It was at a function when I was younger.” She hadn’t particularly liked Tony Stark. _He_ had been the sort to let his gaze linger a little too long, though he’d backed off when Elektra had challenged him. Of course, then he’d asked her back to his, so he clearly hadn’t got the message. Elektra had _not_ responded with violence, deeming it an inappropriate time and place, but she _remembered_.

From what Elektra had heard, he’d matured.

“Don’t tell Foggy that you know Iron Man.”

“Does he have Iron Man dolls on his desk, too? I’ve only ever seen the Thor ones.”

“They’re not _dolls_ ,” Matthew protested, though he laughed as he said it. “And no, Thor is Foggy’s favorite.”

“Really? When his best friend is the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, he chooses a Norse god as his favorite?”

“Huh, I wonder if Spider-Man has that issue,” Matt said. “His friends preferring, I don’t know, Black Widow. That’s a more impressive spider, after all.”

“Black Widow?” Elektra prodded, her tone arch. “Really?”

Matthew smiled. “Just because she’s a spider, that’s all. Seriously, though, I think it’s easier to be somebody’s fan if you haven’t had to clean their puke out of your shoes. That was your fault, by the way.”

“My fault? I certainly never vomited in Franklin’s shoes.”

“No,” Matt agreed. “But it’s because of you that I drank that much.”

“I don’t recall you needing much convincing.” Elektra smiled as she remembered those nights. Despite the fact that she’d seduced Matthew at Stick’s instigation, she had fallen for him on her own. Still, their relationship was better with Stick out of the picture, even though she didn’t like to think of how his life had ended.

“Well, no. I guess I didn’t.” Maybe Mathew was having thoughts similar to hers, as his expression took on an angst that she didn’t see as often these days. “It was a different time.”

“It was,” she agreed. Wanting to see him smile, she suggested, “Shall I go email our new friend about drinks tomorrow? Just imagine how excited Franklin will be.”

And Matthew did smile, though not as broadly as he could have. “He will. Oh, and Karen will miss it. She’s off visiting a friend.”

“Shall we put it off until she can come, too?” Karen was not, it should be noted, Elektra’s favourite person, and it wasn’t just because of the history she had with Matthew. Still, Elektra realized her importance in Matthew’s life, so she only occasionally fantasized about inflicting minor injuries upon her.

But Matthew shook his head. “Better not. She’s gone until Wednesday, and who knows what might happen, an apocalypse or something that, uh, Thor has to go prevent.”

Elektra nodded and allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. “I do think I’ll warn him that Franklin is a fan, though.”

“Yeah,” Matthew agreed, his tone a bit dry. “Let’s not startle the God of Thunder.”

“Why, Matthew. Are you jealous?”

The sound of Matthew’s protests followed her as she went in search of her laptop, but, really, Elektra knew he wasn’t jealous. After all, he had no need to be.

That didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy teasing him, though.

* * *

Franklin intercepted Elektra as she entered the law office. “Hey,” he said, uneasy as he often seemed to be around her, though she had no idea why, _really_. It wasn’t as if she did anything to Franklin. Mostly. “Did you put something in Matt’s coffee? He’s been acting weird all morning.”

“Something like…?” Elektra prompted, her lips curving just a little as Franklin squirmed.

“I don’t know. Something that would make him act like he’s got ants in his pants.”

Elektra tsked softly, shaking her head. “I would never put ants in Matthew’s pants. I mean, really, Franklin. With his ass? Have you seen it? I’d never do anything to damage it.”

Was Franklin sweating? “No, I didn’t say you put… You know what? Never mind. Were you meeting Matt or something? He’s free. Go _right_ in.”

Matthew, though, must have smelled her perfume or maybe just heard her voice, as he stepped out from his office. “Elektra, hey. Good. Is…?” He did a thing with his eyebrows that he may have thought was subtle but, in fact, drew a side-eye from Franklin. Thor hadn’t answered her email before Matthew had left for work that morning, and Elektra had decided that surprising him with the answer would be more fun.

“I thought we were going to go get a coffee,” Elektra said. Turning to Franklin with a winning smile, she asked, “Care to come along? I do see so little of you, Franklin.”

He edged back a step.

Maybe there had been too many teeth in the smile.

“Come on, Fogs,” Matthew urged. “It’s good to get out of the office every now and again.”

“We were just at court this morning. That’s out of the office.”

“Oh do just come along, Franklin. If you’re good, I’ll buy you a lolly.” Matthew shook his head just a bit, and Elektra tried again, this time managing such warmth as Franklin might find genuine. “Please.”

Franklin still looked a bit wary, but nodded. Elektra kept her expression smooth - no triumph - and didn’t even laugh when Franklin kept Matthew between them.

Really, was she that worrying?

Perhaps.

The thought pleased her.

* * *

With three at a table, Franklin had a harder time keeping his distance, but Elektra left the empty chair between Franklin and herself as she sat across from him, the better to get a good view of his face. Matthew was practically vibrating, and Elektra slipped a hand under the table to rest it against his bouncing knee. He grinned at her, then, and Elektra winked at Franklin and his startled expression as she returned her hands to rest lightly on the table.

“Shouldn’t we get the coffee?” Franklin asked, clearly puzzled. “I mean, that’s how it works, right? They don’t come to the table here.”

“No, uh, just a minute, Fogs. We’re meeting someone.”

If anything, Franklin’s confusion deepened. “Okay, you’re not setting me up on a date, are you? I mean, I’m with Marci. You guys know that, right?”

“It’s not a date,” Elektra confirmed. “We just… made a new friend, one we thought you might enjoy meeting.”

“O… kay?”

“It’s all right,” Matthew reassured, which did seem to soothe Franklin.

Franklin half-turned as the door opened and sucked in air through his teeth. “Matt. _Matt_. You are never in a million years going to guess who just came in here.”

Of course, it was Thor. He had eschewed the gym gear, Elektra was relieved to note; the jeans-and-Henley look suited him, even if it was a trifle overdone these days. Though why he was carrying an umbrella, Elektra had no idea, not with the clear weather they’d been having.

“Who, Fogs?”

If Franklin hadn’t been so thunderstruck, and Elektra was quite pleased by her mental description, he would likely have noticed Matthew’s obvious delight.

“Thor,” Franklin hissed.

“Like the God of Thunder Thor?” Matthew asked, all innocence. “Because I met a guy last week whose son-in-law was named Thor. Apparently, nobody will believe that’s really his name.”

Franklin looked like he was about to hyperventilate. “He’s. Coming. This. Way.”

“Of course he is,” Elektra replied, as if she had coffee with deities every day. She lifted a hand to catch Thor’s attention, calling, “Over here.”

She did not call his name, though. No need to attract that sort of attention.

Franklin did not fall out of his chair, but it was a near thing.

“There you are,” Thor replied, with a kind smile that encompassed all three of them. “Good; you waited.”

Franklin by that point resembled a landed fish, his mouth gaping in shock, but Thor took all that in stride. “You must be Franklin. Good to meet you.” He offered a hand, and Franklin stared at it for a moment before shaking it. “Shall we get drinks?” Thor added. “The coffee here is quite excellent. I’m glad you agreed to come.”

“… agreed?” Franklin repeated, though now he was staring at his own hand.

“Oh, yes,” Thor replied, and Elektra saw that _he spoke to me!_ look cross Franklin’s face. “I thought it was the least I could do, after I accosted your friend, here.” He gestured towards Matthew, and Franklin turned to him, wide-eyed, coming to what seemed to Elektra at least to be the obvious conclusion.

“You fought _Thor_? _You_ fought Thor? Wait, you _fought_ Thor? Why?”

“It wasn’t really a fight,” Matthew replied, with a grimace.

“Oh, I’m sure you could have held your own, if I hadn’t caught you unawares,” Thor encouraged. “What beverages would you prefer? My treat, of course.”

Elektra and Matthew gave their usuals, and Matthew managed to coax an answer out of Franklin.

Franklin, staring after Thor, repeated, “Why did you fight Thor, Matty? Was it all the head injuries finally catching up to you?”

“In Matthew’s defense, Thor started it,” Elektra said, just to see Franklin’s response.

He did not disappoint. “He didn’t! Thor wouldn’t! Matt, what really happened?”

Matthew, clearly trying not to laugh, said, “He pulled me off Elektra. I’d just sneak-attacked her.”

Franklin rounded on Elektra. “So he was _rescuing_ you.” Elektra raised an eyebrow. Franklin realized his mistake. “Which you clearly didn’t need, but how was he to know that?”

“Truly, I should have,” Thor said, coming up behind Franklin. He still was looking rather poleaxed about the whole situation, and that only increased when Thor settled into the seat next to him, casually hooking his umbrella over the back of the chair. “She reminds me of some people I used to know, famed women warriors. I always wanted to be one, when I was small.”

“You don’t appear to be suited to be a woman warrior,” Elektra observed, smiling despite herself at Thor’s enthusiasm.

“Yes, that was something of an issue. But I still had the utmost respect for them, despite being unable to join them. I should have let you handle the situation yourself. You’re obviously more than capable.” Turning to Matthew, he asked, all solicitude, “And I do hope that you didn’t sustain any injury, sir.”

“I’m fine,” Matthew replied, managing a smile in response.

Thor clapped his hands, just the once. “Splendid. The server is bringing our drinks when they have been prepared, and also some small pies. They looked tempting, and I couldn’t resist.”

“That’s perfect,” Franklin said. “Pie is great.”

Elektra imagined that he would have responded similarly if Thor had suggested that they dine on maggots.

Then Franklin made a face and Elektra imagined him complaining later that he hadn’t been able to think of something more clever to say to his idol. He added, “So you just ran into Matt and Elektra in the street?”

“Oh, no. Well yes. But I’d seen Elektra at the gym.”

Franklin gaped. “You go to the gym?”

“Don’t worry, Franklin,” Elektra said, all sweetness. “He doesn’t work out.”

“Why are you there?” Matthew asked. “If you don’t work out, it seems like a waste of time.”

“Well, I don’t work out,” Thor agreed. He flexed, but Elektra assumed it was unintentional, even as she was amused by Franklin’s impressed response. Perhaps his shirt was a Tony Stark special, as it stretched admirably with the flex. “But my friend Tony Stark - maybe you’ve heard of him? - asked me to _hang out_ at the gym to attract more business.”

The air-quotes were audible, and Thor seemed as sincere as ever, but Elektra wondered if Tony had been serious when he’d said that. Seriousness had not been a major personality trait of the Tony Stark she had known, after all. While media coverage and such suggested that he had matured, she could imagine him making a flippant comment, and Thor taking it seriously. He did seem to be the sort that would want to help his friends.

“Wait,” Franklin said, turning to Elektra. “You go to the gym?”

“I do like to keep fit,” Elektra replied, with a small shrug. “Unlike Matthew’s ass, I’m not completely maintenance-free.”

Franklin coughed, Matthew went a bit red, and Thor leaned back a bit in his chair as if trying to see the ass in question. Matthew, sitting on the ass and thus making seeing it impossible, didn’t appear to notice.

The barista fluttered a little as she brought the drinks and the treats, likely because of Thor. He smiled at her, and she bobbled Franklin’s drink as she set it down; Franklin didn’t even seem to mind, he was so enamored of Thor. The drinks were passed around and appropriate thanks were given, and the small pies proved to be tasty.

“You have an excellent work ethic,” Thor approved, after taking a drink of his coffee, which he clearly enjoyed. “At the gym. I noticed.”

“Yeah, she noticed you noticing,” Matthew replied, his tone a little dry.

Elektra, picking up on the cue, asked, “Why did you watch me so much? I wasn’t doing anything unusual.”

“Oh, but you were,” Thor countered. “The determination with which you attacked your exercise was most impressive.”

Franklin leaned over to Matthew and murmured, “She didn’t actually _attack_ …?” Matthew shook his head, and Elektra tried not to be amused by Franklin’s visible relief.

Really, even as evil as those elliptical machines were, Elektra would hardly attack them.

“So you kept watching me because… I made an effort when I exercised?”

Thor nodded, then tipped his head thoughtfully before adding, “Not just effort, _valiant_ effort. And you are very beautiful. A beautiful warrior. How could I resist?”

Elektra noticed the way Franklin’s eyes darted to Matthew, suddenly worried. Was he afraid that his hero was going to steal his best friend’s girlfriend?

Hardly. Elektra had made her choice, and her mind wasn’t going to be changed by anyone, whether or not he was a god.

“Well, you did, though,” Elektra pointed out. When all three of her companions turned to her in obvious puzzlement, she clarified, “You resisted. You watched me, yes, but there was never anything predatory in it. And when you encountered Matthew and me, you only did what you thought was necessary.”

“Not that you needed my assistance, as it turned out. And, well, of course not. I wouldn’t have wanted you to be uncomfortable. And, as it seems you are… involved…”

“I am,” Elektra confirmed. Matthew lifted his chin in a gesture that was not quite a challenge, but there seemed to be no need; Thor smiled easily.

“I should have guessed that such a woman would have attracted a mate.” He extended his hand toward Matthew, adding, “May you have many strong children.”

There was a moment of silence, the Franklin asked brightly, “If a god says something like that, does it mean it will actually happen? Like, a prophecy or something? Because that’s terrifying, the thought of these two having a kid. Um, and Thor has his hand out to shake, Matt.”

“What? Surely they would be excellent parents.” Matthew made no move to shake Thor’s hand. After a moment, Thor rested his hand on the table, looking abashed.

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Franklin agreed.

“We just don’t want kids,” Matthew said. “At least, not any time soon.”

“Too much else to do,” Elektra agreed.

“Well, then, you shouldn’t have children, not if you don’t want them,” Thor said, all pragmatic cheer.

“Thank you,” Elektra said, her tone a bit dry. “Also, no need to offer to shake Matthew’s hand as if he’s won a prize.”

Franklin looked a bit alarmed, but really he had no need to worry. Thor’s motives seemed good, even though Elektra was _hardly_ a thing to be won.

“Ah. Yes. My apologies.” The coffee and small pies had disappeared during the conversation, and Thor, realizing this, said tentatively, “You all may need to return to your places of employment?”

“I mean, not really,” Franklin began, but Matthew got to his feet.

“There’s that meeting with Mr. Mendoza coming up.”

Franklin nodded and stood as well, though not without some reluctance. Turning to Thor, he said, “It was really great meeting you.”

Thor smiled. “And you as well - all of you.” He and Elektra both got up. “Oh, you were right.” Elektra made a small noise of inquiry, and Thor gestured at Matthew’s backside. “As you said. Most impressive.” He smiled to the group at large, then, adding, “I must be off, but do let me know if you’d like to get together again. This was pleasant.” He inclined his head in farewell and took his leave.

Franklin made an odd choking sound, then informed Matthew, “Thor just checked out your ass.”

"So it’s been approved by the God of Thunder, " Matthew said, sounding as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

Elektra offered her arm and Matthew took it; she covered his hand with her own and gave it a small squeeze. “You should absolutely put that on your business cards.”

“You should,” Franklin agreed. “Thor-approved ass, that will definitely bring in the customers. Oh, he forgot his umbrella.”

“I don’t think it’s going to rain,” Matthew commented, as Franklin considered the umbrella. “Wonder why he brought it.”

“I’ll take it to him,” Franklin said. The umbrella seemed to resist his efforts to take it, but then he pulled it off the back of the chair and turned toward the door.

Thor, apparently having remembered his accessory, stood in the doorway looking a bit startled. “I forgot my…”

“Oh! Here.” Franklin stepped closer and offered the umbrella on the flat of his hands, looking like nothing so much as a man offering a sword to his liege.

Elektra did not smile at the sight, though she was sorely tempted.

“Thank you,” Thor replied to Franklin as he took the umbrella. “I will remember your assistance.” He inclined his head gravely and left again.

“Weird,” Matthew observed. “I mean, it was just an umbrella, and he’d already remembered it. He didn’t need to be so formal about it.”

“Hey, I don’t care,” Franklin replied. “Anything I can do for Thor.”

“Anything?” Elektra teased.

“Anything,” Franklin replied staunchly. “Now are we going to go back to the office, Matt? Actually work for a living?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Matthew replied, though he moved to join Franklin as he did so.

“See you tonight?” Elektra asked him.

“Well, you’ll see me,” Matthew quipped. There was a moment in which poor Franklin looked a bit concerned - really, he should be used to that by now - and then Matthew and Elektra laughed and Matthew came back to kiss her.

“Tonight,” Elektra said, her voice low and promising things that made Matthew smile and Franklin look both pleased and slightly uncomfortable. He leaned in closer but she pulled away, teasing, “Go on, then. Go do your lawyering, so you can keep me in the style to which I’ve become accustomed.”

Matthew scoffed at that but went off with Franklin.

After that, Thor still watched her at the gym, but he also came over to chat and to get tips about life in the city. He never did get a phone, but somehow managed to email regularly. In time, the quartet met regularly for drinks and meals, and Thor always kept an eye on Franklin, though none of the others knew quite why.


End file.
